Total finds oil offshore Ivory Coast

PARIS, April 17 (UPI) -- French energy company Total said Thursday it made an oil discovery while drilling in the deep waters offshore Ivory Coast.

Mark Blaizot, a senior vice president in charge of exploration for the French company, said the discovery was made in the San Pedro basin, a frontier exploration area off the Ivorian coast.

"Having confirmed the presence of a petroleum system containing light oil, we will next evaluate this very promising find and focus on its extension to the north and east," he said in a statement.

The drilling site was in 7,500 feet of water. Total said it encountered an oil layer that measured 131 feet thick.

The company said it would take the data from the well, Saphir-1XB, and analyze it to determine the reserve potential in the area. Total said it was pursuing an "intensive exploration program" off the Ivorian coast.

Total last year said it encountered about 91 feet of net oil pay while drilling in Ivorian waters. The company said the well confirmed an extension of reserves in the Tano basin, which hosts the giant Jubilee field in Ghana.